The folks behind HD Radio want to ensure radio’s place in the connected dashboard. That’s why HD owner DTS, now a division of parent company Xperi, has broadened its scope to combine analog, and digital radio technologies HD Radio and the European tech Digital Audio Broadcasting into one connected platform in the car.
Xperi’s Connected Radio pairs broadcast radio with an IP connection in the vehicle. “We take interactive components of radio and harmonize them so a U.S. station can deliver interactive ads through TagStation,” Xperi SVP Broadcast Technology Joe D’Angelo tells Inside Towers in an interview. A European station may use its own custom platform to deliver interactivity. By combining all the technology into one solution in the car, that vehicle can be sold anywhere around the world. That’s what automakers want, D’Angelo says.
To be clear, the Connected Radio concept is based on broadcast radio. Though it’s similar to the NextRadio app, the user interface is more simplified in the vehicle. Connected Radio proponents don’t want radio to be “lost” among the many apps included in vehicle infotainment systems these days. “Radio has to be the default audio source in the car,” says D’Angelo. “It’s the one-to-many reach of those towers. If broadcasters embrace this opportunity the infrastructure can have value, even in the days of autonomous cars.”
“We think this work will put broadcast radio in a strong competitive footing going forward into the future of the digital dashboard,” says D’Angelo. HD Radio technology is now in close to 34 million vehicles in the U.S. and it’s shipping in 42 percent of new cars. Xperi is showcasing HD Radio and DTS Connected Radio in the North Hall at Booth #7820 at NAB2017.
April 27, 2017
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